House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., center, standing with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., right, and House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, speaks during a news conference on the American Health Care Act on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 7, 2017.

Note: This originally started out as a section in the morning edition of the Mile High Roundup, our daily guide through the wilds of the day’s news. But the subject is much larger than a couple of paragraphs and quickly grew out of control, hence this special edition.

Visual key: blue means it would cost more than Obamacare, orange means it would cost less, via tax credits.

+ Play with it long enough and you’ll discover something: It actually looks good for some types of people (27-year-olds that make $75,000/year), but for the people it’s bad for (60-year-olds making around $30K), it’s really, really bad.

+ Obamacare charges you $695 per year if you do not have health insurance, the proceeds of which go to the government to be redistributed to other programs. Under the AHCA, if you go two months without insurance, insurance companies can charge you 30 percent higher premiums, the proceeds of which go into the pockets of insurance companies. — The Atlantic

+ One seemingly bizarre angle that almost went unnoticed is the fact that the AHCA repeals the so-called “Snooki tax,” aka the 10-percent tax on tanning salons that has been a part of Obamacare since 2010. — Politico (circa 2014)

… to replace Obamacare, which despite claims is not in a death spiral …

… and any lower premiums paid by some people would be because the insurance isn’t as valuable.

+ The CBO points out (page 14) the AHCA takes away the requirement that insurance plans have a certain actuarial value, the removal of which will make all the plans available in a market less valuable on average. — CBO

All while lowering the deficit by $337 billion

+ Paul Ryan & Co. are touting two numbers: lower premiums (see above) for some people and a $337 billion reduction in the deficit. Which is nothing to sneeze at if spending is your primary concern. — Fox News

What’s next

The thing about the AHCA is that it isn’t a law … yet. And the CBO has raised enough questions that the bill is far from its final form.

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